Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them...Continued.

25: Madam President?

TINA
    "Morning, Goldstein," Red the goblin said as Tina entered the elevator, licking the last of the pecan pie from her fingers.
"Morning, Red," she said. "The usual, please."
Red pulled the lever and they plunged downward until reaching floor thirteen: Tina waved and pulled her coat around her as she left the elevator, making a beeline for her office.
    On her desk was a stack of paperwork delivered by Mr. Caussy, Chief of Criminal Records. Absently filling out papers of random rogues she'd brought in lately, Tina's thoughts wandered from Queenie and Jacob to her last case to Newt to the suspicious behavior of some of the people working in the department. Even Mr. Caussy, who was normally cross to begin with, had started to seem...distant. He brought Tina her paperwork before she even got to the office, which was strange, as he normally liked to deliver it in person; he normally had something to say about how Tina was always tardy when she turned her papers in.
    Lately, however, he barely even acknowledged her existance. He barely noticed anyone, in fact. Tina also noticed that since the law on no-maj and wizard relations had been passed, Madam Picquery herself had acted strange. She came to the Major Investagations Department one day, her hair wrapped in gray linen and her robes straight and in order as usual. But something had seemed...off about her to Tina. She talked with a bit more vigor and a little less regalness than usual, and she didn't hold herself as straight. After she talked over the progress of the search for Percival Graves with a few Aurors, she nodded, said she had 'other business to attend to' and left. Tina hadn't seen her since.
    Of course, a few other Aurors noticed as well. Cara Palmetto, a respected Auror in the department, pulled Tina aside one day and held her at wand-point, demanding to know what Tina's favorite nut was. As soon as Tina said 'pecan', Cara released her and sheepishly said, "Sorry. Everyone's acting so weird lately; have you noticed? Especially important people."
   From that moment forward, Tina had paid special attention to the heads of departments.
"Morning, Goldstein!" Said a cheerful voice from the door suddenly.
   Tina grabbed her wand on instinct, but when she saw who it was, she gently and uneasily set her wand back on her desk.
"Good morning, Madam Picquery."
It was not like the President to visit her, much less to sound this cheerful.
"Is there something you need?" Tina asked her.
"Yes, actually, Tina," Picquery said.
Okay, Tina thought. Something is definitely up. She never calls me by my first name.
    Just then, Mr. Caussy came in, his hands behind his back and his face blank. Tina's fingers slowly inched toward her wand on her desk, closer and closer.
"Good morning," he said generally.
"Good morning," Tina repeated, wrapping her fingers around her wand. "Madam President said she needed my assistance?"
"Oh, actually, we just need you out of the way," the President said, pulling out her wand. Tina stood, pointing her wand at them both.
"Madam President?" Tina said uncertainly.
"She isn't your prez, Auror," jeered Caussy, with a nasty grin.
"What's going on?" She demanded, shaking her wand. "Tell me. Now!"
Mr. Caussy chuckled.
"Homonum revelio! Homonum revelio!" Tina shouted at them both in turn; of course, Mr. Caussy disarmed her, but his skin began to bubble like hot wax. Madam Picquery began to melt, too. As their forms melted away, they cringed, holding their wands to Tina as she watched in horror.
   Mr. Caussy changed to a short, squatty man with thinning hair; Madam Picquery morphed into a thin, bony woman with wispy white hair and an ugly, crooked snarl.
"What do you want?" Tina asked savagely. She was a little scared, yes; but she wasn't going to give them the pleasure of seeing it.
"Come with us," the man said as the woman plucked Tina's wand from the floor with her bony fingers.
"We'll hold you hostage until we get word from Grindelwald," the man continued. He had a British accent, but it wasn't at all soft or gentle like Newt's; it was harsh and rough.
"He just said to keep you for a while, until we've infiltrated all the departments. Shouldn't be long now; we've got most of them already!" The woman said, her accent squeaky and thick.
"Shut up!" The man snapped. "You're telling her secrets! And Grindelwald wanted you to be the President." He tutted. "Bad choice on his part. But no matter: grab the Auror. Bind her."
"Relashio," the woman hissed. Tina tried to dodge the spell, but the ropes followed her, tying her hands and legs, gagging her mouth.
Stupid Tina! She scolded herself mentally. You should have screamed when you had the chance!
"Now, I bet you're wondering why we singled you out," The woman said. "We heard all about that upstart Hufflepuff, you, some Muggle, and your sister take him into custody. They sent him back to England to rot in Azkaban, but oh, Gellert is a lot smarter than that. He said not to worry about the dumb, smiling blonde or the Muggle, and as far as we know, Scamander's in Britain. You, on the other hand, missy, are dangerous. You're too observant for our liking. Catch us when we don't need you too. So, Gellert told us to hang on to you for a while. We'll keep you in the basement, I think-"
"That's quite enough!" The man snapped again. "Now, let's get going. I'm ready to get this over with." He grabbed Tina by the shoulder roughly and Disapparated.